Yesterday, I turned 30.
Yikes.
No, in reality, I’m actually super cool with turning 30. Mostly because I know a lot of awesome people who are already in their 30s, and if they’re any indication, it seems like it’s going to be a good decade.
More important than turning 30, at least in my humble opinion, is that my birthday has always been synonymous with summer. The week of my birthday was usually the last week of school, for me; the week when classes are pretty much over so you can spend most of your time lazing in the sun, signing yearbooks, and crossing your fingers that you passed all of your exams.
I know I’m not alone in saying that summer is my absolute favorite season. I love it for a number of reasons, including the weather, the weather, the weather… and the weather.
Oh, and the food.
The season’s first heirloom tomatoes have already arrived for nearly daily tomato salads. We’ve been inhaling strawberries and cherries by the kilo (no hyperbole). And while we’re still in Paris for now (we’ll be heading Stateside in just a few short weeks!), I’ve definitely been in the mood for grilling.
The only problem? Grilling is kinda tough in Paris… even with a balcony. So to tide us over until we have access to a real barbecue, I came up with this little recipe to get my fill of ribs right now.
Since we buy our meat from a co-op, I actually opt not to put any sauce on these at all: all it takes is a spice crust and a low, slow cook in the oven for these ribs to be juicy, tender, and flavorful. That said, the Country Boy loves barbecue sauce (I make my own, but you can use whichever one you like), so I’ve also included instructions on how you can make these ribs a little saucier.
Oven-Baked Barbecue Ribs
5 to 6 lbs. baby back pork ribs; (membrane removed)
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. paprika
1 hefty pinch cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. dehydrated garlic
Salt and pepper
Optional: 1 1/2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce
The day before, combine the spices in a bowl and coat the ribs evenly on the flesh side. Refrigerate covered.
The day you want to serve, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Place the ribs on a rack over a baking sheet, and bake for about 2 hours. Cut the individual ribs and serve.
(If you want your ribs saucy, start basting them with the sauce after about 1 1/2 hours of baking.)